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Tug of war Ronaldo leaves Australia after FIFA ruling
Posted: Friday November 12, 1999 01:21 PM
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo left Australia on Friday and will miss two soccer internationals with Australia, forcing promoters to refund tickets and offer free admission to the matches. The Brazilian has returned to Italy, the result of a tug of war between his Italian club Inter Milan and his national federation. It followed a ruling from world body FIFA which supported Inter Milan's call to ban Ronaldo from playing the second match in Melbourne next Wednesday. Brazil coach Wanderly Luxemburgo made good on his warning Thursday that if Ronaldo could not play that match he would not be fielded in the first game at Stadium Australia on Sunday. Torn between his club and country, Ronaldo said he deeply regretted not being able to take part but to ignore the FIFA decision could lead to threats of sanctions or problems with his contract with Inter Milan. "My goal was to play in Australia but I have to comply with the FIFA decision," said Ronaldo. "If I don't accept the decision, there are other threats of sanctions and also my contract with Inter Milan. I am very sad about this. "I don't believe this situation will affect my future with Inter Milan. They got what they wanted." His exit was another blow for promoters International Management Group, which has already had to deal with the non-appearance of Australian player Harry Kewell. With credibility on the line after basing its series publicity around Ronaldo and Kewell, IMG opted to make the matches free to the public and offer refunds on the tickets which were priced up to US$100.
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